Paris and London resumed discussions on scenario of sending troops to Ukraine — Le Monde

France and the United Kingdom are again discussing the scenario of a possible deployment of their armed forces to Ukraine. Negotiations on this topic among European countries stopped earlier this year, but in recent weeks they have been revived.

The French publication Le Monde has reported this, citing its own sources.

The publication recalled that the debate on sending troops to Ukraine, which was launched in February 2024 by French President Emmanuel Macron, provoked sharp opposition from some European countries.

However, the publication notes that this scenario has not been completely buried. The newspaper's interlocutors said that in recent weeks its discussion has been revived thanks to the visit of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to France on November 11.

"Negotiations are ongoing between the UK and France on defense cooperation, in particular with a view to creating a solid core of allies in Europe focused on Ukraine and European security in the wider sense," the newspaper quoted an unnamed British military source as saying.

The sources' words echo a recent statement made by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot during a visit to London on November 22.

In an interview with the BBC, Barrot urged Western allies not to set or express red lines in their support for Ukraine.

When asked about the possibility of sending French troops to the region, he said that Paris was not ruling out any options.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in October this year, French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu said that Western countries should begin discussing the deployment of their troops in Ukraine after the end of the russian-Ukrainian war.

Recall, in July 2024, Polish President Andrzej Duda expressed hope that russian dictator vladimir putin would not bring the situation to the point where Warsaw would have to send troops to Ukraine.